I Finally Put the Christmas Lights Up

Merry Christmas

BEER

Looking for something fun to do on Saturday? Go here:

Matter of the Heart

Sunday Dinners

In light of tight finances and the cozy fall weather I decided to start cooking Sunday dinners that will provided leftovers for lunch. Last night we made amazing Braised Chicken Thighs served with braised chard & long wild long grain rice.

I am excited to go have my lunch today.

Flashbacks

This weekend while looking for some "seasonal" shows I stumbled across this awesome afterschool special from my youth.

Remember this?

I'm Conflicted

I'm totally for Gay Speakeasies!



Two more clips (beware of language)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpxqXQAiyT0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiFONnWGMIs

Don't be a douche! Vote NO on Prop 8.

"I'm Keen on You, M'Lady"

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

If You're Still Undecided...

She's F ' ing OBama

Better than Matt Damon?

Best First Dance Ever

I wish more people would enjoy a wedding like this couple.

I Can't Wait for HSM3

Sorry Kieran.

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Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator

I would be Trough Gutted Palin. Want to know your Sarah Palin Baby Name?

Clarity...

This just arrived by email, I don't know who to give credit to. I'm sure your in-box will get it soon.

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather lady, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 9,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very
responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate laywer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

I LOVE TINA FEY!

Stalker?

Before he went crazy I had a mad crush on Tom Cruise. He was #1 on my celebrity list. If only he kept his mouth shut and let his big nose & crooked smile work their magic. Oh, and the whole Scientology thing is whack-a-doo too.

So, anyway... I finally went in for my annual grooming - aka haircut. I asked for "just above the shoulders with some layers so it's not a blunt stick straight bob". I love what Stacey did to my hair but did she have to say, "it's a little longer version of the Katie Holmes"

Seriously. I got the trendy celebrity cut of the season. Now if only I could rock a leopard print dress.

Awesome

Sorry the video posted last week got pulled down from youtube. Click on this link to see the Daily Show's spoof video bio on Obama.

Thursday night's "The Daily Show" aired a hilarious biography video of their own. It is set to music with a booming narration and full of tag lines.

"The earthly son of a goat herder and an anthropologist, one man seems ready enough-ish to lead...."

Watch & Enjoy

Gone... Doing Good

Where is Sarah? I'm here for my annual "do gooder" trip. For the next 10 days I'll be traveling with, hanging out, working hard and laughing alongside 20 teenagers. I know you are jealous.

More to come when I return.

Did you know about this?

Mastering the margarita: Tequila aside, even experts can't agree on what goes into the legendary cocktail

YUMMY

I think my recipe is pretty darn good & easy. Nobody has ever complained.

1 can frozen lime-ade mix - save the can to measure the booze
1 "can" water
1 "can" tequila
1/2 "can" triple sec
Taste & dilute if needed with 1-2 more cans of water.

Pour over ice, garnish with lime wedge, drink. Repeat.

Fire in nice Oakland neighborhood reveals pot-growing operation

Gee, I wonder why?

"Authorities found about 100 marijuana plants inside the home. One person suffered smoke inhalation but declined medical treatment...":

Garden Upgrades

I found the sleepy gargoyle at this website: Assorted Creatures Outdoors I would love to scare someone with the zombie. Check them out.

Beware Indeed

1950s Public Service Announcement:

Crawford Family

Where did all the blondies of the next generation come from? Full Album

Family Reunion

I spent the holiday weekend here


With these people


Mostly playing H2O Volleyball


As day closed we'd sit on the deck to enjoy sunsets

and then make s'mores before tucking in for the night


What did you do?

Photobombers

This is pretty funny. I've never heard of photobombing but I like it. I may take this up as a hobby. Enjoy the link: List Of The Day: Photobombers Of The Day

Worth The Price of Admission

Friday night we went to Alison Krauss / Robert Plant concert at The Greek. Wow, T-Bone Burnett is an amazing producer and they did some awesome re-arrangements of Zeppelin songs. This was my favorite:

Got a Marshmallow?

Interactive Map of California Fires

Let's hope the crazies don't blame gay marriages on all the fires. I can see it now, "God hates California"

So Sad... Really Sad

Croatian Fans to Get Counseling for Shock Euro 2008 Exit - Euro 2008

It was a nail-biter of a game. But I can't imagine the whole country needs therapy.

I want to feel young again

Looking for Fun

See you there? I know it's not on the first Friday but we'll let that slide by this time. Click the title of this post to see the cool flier for the event.

Friday, July 11
FIRST FRIDAYS AFTER FIVE/East Bay Express
5pm–Midnight
FIRST FRIDAYS AFTER FIVE/East Bay Express BEST OF THE EAST BAY FFAF blues and jazz summer series continues with Billy Dunn and the Ladies Choice Band in the café. At 7 p.m. the East Bay Express rolls in with their rockin' Best of the East Bay Party. Live music and performances throughout the museum until midnight. The amazing lineup of the East Bay's best talent includes The Uptones, Flipper, Detstroyer-KISS cover band, Dyloot of DeepVoices, HOTTUB, Kev Choice Ensemble, DJ Malachi, Amoeba artist Brandi Shearer, The Whoreshoes, Mike Glendinning, Monarchs, + more music from Amoeba Music; performances by Splash Circus and Savage Jazz Dance Company; screenings of the Express 24-Hour Digital Film Festival; your favorite food and drink vendors; and a Kids Party Zone sponsored by Chabot Space and Science Center. And this year's party is going Green: come on a bike and get a free tune-up and valet parking. Flash a public transportation pass for a tote bag of goodies. Free!

Finally ...

People who sum it up perfectly for me.

Red Flag

Santa Cruz Mountain fire grows to 700 acres; no containment yet I just got home from camping here. Pray for rain, cooler weather, less wind, anything to help the firefighters contain the blaze.

One night last weekend we noticed the camp site next to us had a huge fire in their ring. We all commented on what idiots they were for allowing the flames to get so high. I guess people who don't live near the woods don't understand how quickly a fire can get out of hand.

I'm going back at the end of August. It will be interesting to see the damage first hand.

In the words of my friend Smokey Bear... Only YOU can prevent forest fires. Be careful out there.

Happy Birthday Laney

I know it's a few days early.. but you deserve the best!

Don't send a lame Birthday eCard.
Try JibJab Sendables!

Another reason to continue to rebuild

Oh how I love NOLA.
Taste of New Orleans | Bay Area Bites: by Thy Tran | posted in food and drink |

One needs many lifetimes to enjoy all that the Crescent City has to offer. Alas, I only have ten days and one stomach.

That hasn’t stopped me from trying, though. Here are just a few of the highlights from the past week….

If you’re here during the winter and if someone you know owns an oyster boat, be sure to pack a bottle of hot sauce and an oyster knife. A screwdriver from the engine room works almost as well. Otherwise, head to Casamento’s during the R months — like any proper oyster house they’re closed during the summer — or squeeze in with the tourists at Acme in the French Quarter.

If you’re here in the springtime, ask for wild crawfish from the Atchafalaya Basin. (Resist calling them crayfish or mudbugs, please.) At other times of the year, try to track down ones raised in the rice country surrounding nearby Lafayette. They’re on menus everywhere, but perhaps the best way to find some good crawfish boil is to take the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar all the way uptown to Audubon Park on the weekend. Make friends with one of the families gathered for a reunion or birthday (or at least, get to know the people tending the 60 gall"

click here to continue reading & seeing the pictures

Tree Huggers

I went camping this weekend. It was great fun. Four days without a shower. Maybe the redwoods felt this way about me.

Guilty As Charged

A few of my friends have hounds with this disgusting habit.

The picture came from Cute Overload! :) Thanks to Elmar for the referral.

Aside from the gross factor of the above picture there is a lot of animal cuteness.

Happy Meat

Maybe I don't need to drive up to Oregon every year...
What's New: Meet the new (meat) CSAs: by Carol Ness, Special to The Chronicle

Meat and poultry raised the old-fashioned way - on the pastureland of small Bay Area farms - is becoming easier for consumers to buy, thanks to an idea borrowed from the produce world: CSAs.

Instead of a weekly box of radishes and radicchio from your friendly local farmer, Bay Area households are picking up monthly boxes of steaks, stew meat, pork loins, lamb chops, whole chickens and sometimes goat, all raised by Northern California farmers and ranchers, mainly on grass.

The new kid on the block comes from Clark Summit Farm in Tomales, where Liz Cunninghame and Dan Bagley raise pigs, chickens (for meat and eggs) and cattle on their hilly acres.

Last Wednesday, some 30 members of the new Clark Summit Meat Club picked up their first monthly 10- or 15-pound boxes of just-packed, frozen cuts at three pickup spots - in San Francisco, Emeryville and Tiburon.

Clark Summit is the third active meat CSA in the Bay Area. Point Reyes' Marin Sun Farms and the Sonoma County Meat Buying Club, based in Petaluma, started their versions earlier this year.

The very first such venture, the Bay Area"

New Skill

I love to eat BBQ but I've never been the griller in the household. Dad always took top honor at family functions. Jane always enjoyed and excelled at gilling in our house. I got to enjoy the fruits of other's labor.

I've got a grill. I've got a freezer full of organic beef. Well, I guess it's time I dust off the cobwebs of the brain and learn a new still. So this weekend I decided to find a great marinade recipe and take my first attempt at grilling. Click on the link for recap on the results.

I think it was a pretty good first step. Actually it was pretty awesome.

I now regret all those evenings wasted not paying closer attention to my dad's culinary adventures. But maybe it's in the genes or I learned by osmosis since the first attempt out was such a success.

Daily Giggle

Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures - I Can Has Cheezburger?


more cat pictures


more cat pictures
I admit I like this stuff.

Lost Generation

It's worth watching all the way through or you'll miss the "twist".

Ew - I Warned You

I don't recommend doing a google image search for "face tumor"

It's not pretty.

Blech

Low sodium soup sucks. Just my humble opinion.

The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Hello, Stella!

Mel's new puppy, Stella, stalks Granite. Granite taunts Stella w/ tiny squeaker squirrel. Love + hours of chase, tug, squeeks, yipes, growling & drool

Tis the Season

One of my favorite things about my house is the back patio. It's the perfect place to sit in the sun or under the stars with friends while we enjoy a beer, wine or margaritas and some yummy grilled eats. I spent several hours this weekend cleaning up the yard. Now the back patio is ready for the season of booze & bbq. YAY! Oh, I am also sore & sunburned from my efforts. I can smell the sizzling meat as I type. Mmm.

Just Pretending

I spent the weekend doing errands to make my home life a little more settled. I felt a bit like I was wandering in no-man's land for the past few months. Living in between what was my life & what I want my life to be. So I took Friday off to get a grip on my bedroom. I finally upgraded from the "divorce double futon" to a grown up queen bed. I also got new bedding. See my pretty new place for slumber:


The next step is selecting a paint color, painting & hanging some art on the walls. By the time we need to sell the place I'm sure it will finally feel like home again.

Now if I can only get the dogs to stop digging up the plants and I remove the weeds the yard will be in respectable shape for a BBQ.

MobMov: mobile movie guerilla drive-in and outdoor cinema

What a brilliant idea. A spur of the moment (ok a week or few lead time is announced) drive in movie. Click here to see what outdoor cinema is happening in your area.

My Hometown 2007/2008

Take a look at this map of Homicides in Oakland 2007/2008

I'm at a loss for words.

A Blessing for The Day After

A Busy Day

Do you ever go to bed wondering how you filled your day with so much activity?

Yesterday was one of those days:
5:30AM Wake-up, eat breakfast, drive to Alameda to meet running carpool to head to SF, find parking, board shuttle bus, arrive at Fort Baker in Sausalito, mingle with teammates wait for the run to start

8:45AM Head to start line for the 9AM gun of my wave for Emerald Across the Bay 12K

10:30AM Cross the finish line, hang out with other finishers & cheer on my mates still on the course

12Noon Pick up lunch for mom, go to hospital, visit dad, eat lunch with mom, say goodbye to dad

2PM Drag dogs to pet shop for their much needed baths. Oh they smell so good now.

3:30PM Begin cooking corned beef, clean kitchen, shower, change bedding

6:30PM Friends arrive for St. Patrick's dinner (YUMMY) & three episode marathon of The L Word. Several black & tan's consumed.

10:30PM Be asleep.

Boyfriend: Woman Lived in Bathroom

My favorite line from the article: "They had conversations and had an otherwise normal relationship" Really? I'm not so sure.

Boyfriend: Woman Lived in Bathroom
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, March 13, 2008
(03-13) 04:46 PDT Wichita, Kan. (AP) --

A 35-year-old woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time he called police had a phobia about leaving the bathroom, the boyfriend said.

"She is an adult; she made her own decision," said her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. "I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it."

The case drew nationwide attention after Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat in the two years she apparently was in the bathroom.

"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."

McFarren, 36, said he can't be certain how long Pam Babcock stayed in the bathroom because "time just went by so quick I can't pinpoint how long." He said beatings she received in her childhood caused her phobia.

"It just kind of happened one day; she went in and had been in there a little while, the next time it was a little longer. Then she got it in her head she was going to stay — like it was a safe place for her," McFarren said.

But McFarren said she moved around in the bathroom during that time, bathed and changed into the clothes he brought her. He brought food and water to her. They had conversations and had an otherwise normal relationship — except it all happened in the bathroom.

McFarren said he finally called police Feb. 27 after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy — like she didn't know what was going on, except she was awake.

What emergency responders found when they went into bathroom has left residents of this small western Kansas town buzzing, and law enforcement officials incredulous.

Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to mid-thigh. She was "somewhat disoriented," and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.

"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."

She initially refused emergency medical services, but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

"She said that she didn't need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave," he said.

Whipple said the county attorney will determine whether any charges should be filed against McFarren.

McFarren, who works at an antique store, said he has been taking care of Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day.

"And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,'" Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."

She was reported in fair condition Wednesday at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.

Babcock has an infection in her legs that has damaged her nerves, and there is a possibility she may wind up in a wheelchair, McFarren said.

James Ellis, a neighbor, said he had known the woman since she was a child, but that he had not seen her for at least six years.

"I don't think anybody can make any sense out of it," Ellis said.

Babcock had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up, he said.

"It really doesn't surprise me," Ellis said. "What surprises me is somebody wasn't called in a bit earlier."

If Celebrities Moved to Oklahoma

Here's a sample: It's Britney!
ENJOY & My apologies to Oklahomans

WARNING - gross factor 8

Below is the story of what a mother will do for the baby she loves.

On Tuesday I gave Granite one of those rope chew toys & she was so happy that it was destroyed within a few hours.

This morning when I returned from my workout she ran up to me "sat" and looked so sad. I put "sat" in quatation marks because she actually just squated. Upon investigation of her weird posture & look of confusion I found that she had ingested lots of the above mentioned rope & tried to pass it this AM. Hanging from her rear end was about one foot of rope filled poo. What's a mother to do? I wrapped my hand in TP & tried to wipe her back-end. Woops, lots of rope in that poo. I had to grab the offensive dingleberry & pull... another six inches extracted.

The poor beast was so happy to be released from the evil rope-poo-monster that was chasing her around the yard.

So, how did your day begin?

Happy 18th Birthday Dad

72 years ago today William McNeil Crawford was born in the Philipines. As legend goes he was born on the dining room table. He's lived a long & crazy life.

During WWII His family was captured by the Japanese & were POWs for 4 years in Santo Thomas. Dad's the middle boy on the right:

The family returned to the US after liberation & my dad grew up to be a pretty good looking guy:

At Cal he met & fell in love with my mom. They seem to love each other still:

He has a huge soft spot in his heart for beasts:

and he's the most loved grandfather to this bunch...


He's living quite a life.

Going Whole Hog

A hearty pig is a leg of ham and a shoulder roast to boot,
His belly and his loin taste good with a garnish of some fruit,
His spare ribs make a sumptuous meal — indeed, from snout to heart,
The pig rewards the frugal chef with a meal from every part.
YUM YUM YUM

Bitch is the New Black

You gotta love Tina Fey:

The Other Blog is Active Again

Did you know I'm running again? Want to keep up on all the adventures? Check out my other blog.

So Big

Can you believe that this little fuzz bug

turned into this majestic beast...

Who Isn't for Puppies?

Yes We Can

Yes, We Can! - Si, Se Puede!

Song & video Inspired by Barack Obama's 'Yes We Can' speech.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --

Yes. We. Can.

Celebrities featured include: Jesse Dylan, Will.i.am, Common, Scarlett Johansson, Tatyana Ali, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Kate Walsh, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Adam Rodriquez, Kelly Hu, Adam Rodriquez, Amber Valetta, Eric Balfour, Aisha Tyler, Nicole Scherzinger and Nick Cannon

http://www.yeswecansong.com

http://www.barackobama.com/

http://factcheck.barackobama.com/

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	8.5
Mind:	8.3
Body:	8.2
Spirit:	9.2
Friends/Family:	6.1
Love:	7.7
Finance:	8.1
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Sleeve Face

Trend takes off as music fans take cover

I found the website after reading the above linked article. Some really cool pictures like this for example:

Worth Saving

In February I'm returning to New Orleans for more hurricane rebuilding work. I'm going to do all in my power to get a meal from Willie Mae's Scotch House. Watch this 10 min video & tell me you aren't in love:


If you don't have time to watch the video check out these pictures

In case you aren't certain - I LOVE FRIED CHICKEN!

Warning - Not for the weak or easily offended

Talk Dirty to Me

The quotes in the list are complaints reported by clients of Room 111, a public health clinic in St. Paul that treats people for sexually transmitted diseases. Nurses at the clinic began creating the list two decades ago; it now includes several hundred comments. Things overheard at the STD clinic

YUMMY!

If you happen to be driving along the Silverado Trail looking for something to quench your thirst I suggest a visit to my new best friends at Rombauer

Prison Reform

1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines at practice! This is not the final routine, and definitely not a punishment! just a tease